Method and apparatus for sealing container



Nuv 29, 1955 J. G. ONEIL y 9 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERFiled April 1, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l Waxy NQV. 29, 1955 J. G. ONEIL2,725,

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINER Filed April 1, 1950 5Sheets-Sheet 2 (IE/0v 6} & Wat/1..

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April1, 1950 awe WM (fUH/V 6% 6 IMF/z METHOD APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINER.

John G. ONeil, Faribault, Minn., assignor to Weinon Corporation, St.Paul, Mom, a corporation of Minnesota Application Aprill, 1950, S'erialNo.. 1 53,467

Claims. (01.93 365) This invention relates to a method and apparatus forclosing and sealing. a container. While theinvention is applicable tocontainers made of various materials, it has been practiced and usedprincipally with a container made of comparatively heavy paper or thincardboard preferably lacquered or waxed. 1

It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus forcovering and tightly sealing one end of a container, which container ispreferably cylindrical in form.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method for closingand sealing a container which consists in providing a container,reversely bending the top portion thereof outwardly, providing a coverin the form of a disk the edge of which is bent upwardly and thenreversely to. form a downwardly directed groove or channel, .plac ingsaid cover on said container with the reversely bent portion of thecontainer within said channel, then bending and disposing the outerdepending edge of said cover within said reversely bent portion of thecontainer, then rolling said reversely bent portions together inwardlyand compressing the same.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus forcovering and sealing a container. comprising a rotatable mandrel onwhich the container is placed with the upper portion of the containerreversely bent outwardly, a die above said mandrel having a fiat centralportion and a downwardly directed groove at its. edge, said die beingadapted to receive a cover having a flat central portion and having adownwardly directed groove at its edge adapted to fit into said groovein said die, means for moving said die toward said mandrel and containerto dispose the reversely bent portion of the latter within said channelof said cover, together with means for dis posing the outer dependingedge of said cover within said reversely bent portion of. saidcontainer, rolling said portions inwardly and then compressing the same;

It is more specifically an object of the invention to provide such anapparatus as set forth in the preceding paragraph in which said lastmentioned means comprises a rotatable wheel having a groove adjacent oneside thereof, said wheel being disposed adjacent the top of saidmandrel, and means for moving said wheel toward said mandrel.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fullyset forth in the following, description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tosimilar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the. apparatus of this invention,a portion thereof being. broken away and another portion showninvertical section;

Fig. 2 is a view principally in side elevation of the upper portion ofsaid apparatus, some parts being brokenaway and others shown in verticalsection;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation showing a portion. of the saidapparatus on an enlarged scale;

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Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the parts in differentpositions; and

Fig. 5 is a partial view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 showing the parts instill another position.

Referring to the drawings, a device or machine is shown comprising aframe or base 10 having spaced sides of trapezoidal shape in elevation,the larger and lower portions of said frames having spaced flanges 10aadapted to rest on a suitable support or floor 11. Frame 10 at its upperend supports a horizontal plate 10b. A standard 12 has a base portion12a with. a lower flat surface resting on the top of. plate 10b. Portion10b is provided with an opening in which is disposed a bushing 13 inwhich is rotatably mounted a shaft 14. Shaft 14 has secured therein apin below which is a washer 16 surrounding shaft 14 and adapted toengage the lower side of pin 15. A compression coiled spring 17'surrounds shaft 14 the same engaging washer 16 at its upper end andengaging the bottom of a cup member 18 having a flange at its topengaging the bottom of plate 10b. The lower end of bushing 13 isthreaded into the top of member 18. Shaft 14 has a reduced upper end towhich is secured a member 20 having a frusto conical upwardly taperingsurface forming one race or bearing for bearing rollers 21 also engaginga surface of an annular member 22 secured in a cylindrical recess 24a ofa plate 24. Plate 24 can thus rotate on the bearing, comprising rollers21. Plate 24 has an annular groove 24!; in its top surface concentricwith shaft 14. The shaft 14 extends downwardly below member 18 and ispivotally connected by a pivot pin 25 to a lever 26, which lever ispivoted by a pivot pin 28 to a bracket 29 supported upon a flange 10cextending between the sides of frame member 10. The lower outer end oflever 26 has a horizontally projecting portion 26a forming a pedal ortreadle. The inner end of lever 26 is pivotally connected by a pin 30 tothe lower end of a rod 31 guided in a projection or boss 12a on one sideof standard 12. The top of rod 31 is adapted to engage the under side ofone end of a lever 33 which is pivoted on a headed and nutted bolt 34secured in a bracket 35a projecting from one side of a member 35. Ashaft 37 has a bearing in member 35' and carries at its lower end a die36. Shaft 37 is coaxial with shaft 14 and is secured to a coupling 38secured to a shaft 40 in turn journaled in a bearing in a boss 12b in ahorizontally projecting portion 12c of standard 12. j i

The die 36 has a lower flat central surface 36a and has formed thereinat its edge and some distance above surface 36a a downwardly directedannular groove 36b. A wheel 41 is rotatable on a headed shaft 42 securedin one end of lever 33. A tensile coiled spring 44 is secured at one endto'a screw 45 in the outer end of lever 33 and at its other end issecured to a bolt 46 secured in bracket 35a. Bracket 35a is supported bybeing secured to the projecting bar-like end of a bracket 48 secured byone or more screws 49 to the front side of standard 12. Wheel 41 has anannular groove 41a adjacent one side which is the side nearest die 36.Groove atoms a rather sharp annular edge or flange at said side of wheel41. In the rear of groove 41a wheel 41 has an outwardly extendingconcave surface 415 which extends to a cylindrical portion 41c.

Shaft 40 has secured to its upper end a beveled gear 50 which mesheswith a beveled pinion 51 carried on a shaft 52 journaled in a bearing inportion 12c and connected to the driving shaft of an electric motor 53which is supported in portion 120. Motor 53 will be controlled by asuitable switch not shown.

In carrying out the method of the invention a container 60 is formed thelower end of which has a projecting lip or flange 600:. A small topportion 60b of the container will be reversely bent outwardly so as tovlie alongside of the container at the top thereof. A cover 61 isprovided which preferably is made of a flat disk of heavy paper orcardboard which is circular in form. The outer ber 24'with the flange60a pressed into the groove 24b.

Groove 24b is formed so that the flange 69a fits snugly or tightly intosaid groove so that container 60 is quite firmly held in a verticalposition. The operator new steps on pedal portion 26a, swinging lever 26which depresses shaft 14 and member 24. This swinging of lever 26 alsomoves rod 31 upwardly also moving up the outer end of lever 33 whichswings wheel 41 away from the container against the tension of spring44. The cover 61 can be placed directly on the container with thereversely bent portion 60b disposed in the channel 61a. Alternately thecover can be placed in the die 36, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Theoperator now permits lever 26 to be swung back toward its normalposition under the influence of springs 17 and 44. The cover 61 isplaced on the container and wheel 41 moves toward the container so thatthe sharp flange at its outer side engages the depending outer portionof the cover and bends the tween the downturned portion 60b and theouter side of the container. As the wheel 41 continues to approach thecontainer and the container is moved firmly against die 36, the groove41a rolls the edges of the cover and the downturned portion 60b togetherinwardly, as shown in Fig. 5. The wheel approaches die 36 very closelyand the rolled inwardly portions are finally compressed between thesurface of groove 41a and the convex portion of wheel 41, as shown inFig. 5. A very tight rolled bead is thus formed which tightly seals thecontainer and holds the cover very firmly in place. The die 36 israpidly rotated during the described operation and this rotates thecontainer 60 and member 24, which latter rotates very easily on thebearings 21. This rotation of the die 36 and container 60 also rotateswheel 41. When the seal is completed the operator again presses on pedalportion 26a so that the member 24 is lowered and wheel 41 is swung awayfrom the container. The container is then removed from member 24.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided acomparatively simple method and apparatus for very effectively andquickly sealing a container. One use of the container is for containingmilk. Such a seal as shown can be unrolled by the housewife by grippingthe top of the container or the bead at the top thereof and pressinginwardly on the same. An opening can then thus be made for dispensingthe milk without completely removing the cover. The method and apparatushave been demonstrated in actual practice, found to be very successfuland eiiicient and are being commercially used.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in theform, details, arrangement and proportions of the apparatus and in thesteps and sequence of steps of the method without departing from thescope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in amethod and apparatus capable of carrying out the 7 stantially parallelto the outer side of said container a die above said member having anannular downwardly directed groove therein at its outer edge and heavinga flat bottom within and below said groove, said die having a verticalaxis and being adapted to receive a cover having an outer channelportion formed to fit in said groove and having an outer depending edgeportion, means for relatively moving said die with said cover thereinand said member to move said cover over said container with a reverselybent portion of said container disposed in said channel 'in said cover,a rotatable wheel having an annnlar groove therein at one side forming acomparatively sharp upwardly and inwardly directed lip at said side,means for rotating said die, and means for moving said wheel upwardlyand toward said container simultaneously, said wheel constituting meanscooperating with said die for engaging the depending edge portion ofsaid cover for bending the same inwardly and disposing it under thereversely bent portion of said container, and between said bent portionand said container, then rolling said portions inwardly together andcompressing the same against said die.

2. An apparatus for sealing a container having in combination, arotatable member having means for holding said container concentricallytherewith and upstanding therefrom, said container having its top edgeportion bent reversely outwardly and downwardly to extend along andsubstantially parallel to the outer side of said container, a diedisposed above said member concentrically therewith having a verticalaxis and a lower surface with an annular groove at its edge adapted toreceive a disk cover having a channel of inverted U-shape in its outerportion adapted to fit in said groove, said cover having a dependingportion at its edge extending below said lower surface, a rotatablewheel at one side of said die with its axis at an acute angle to theaxis of said member and having an annular groove at its side adjacentsaid die forming a comparatively sharp edge directed inwardly andupwardly, means for rotating said die, means for moving said member anddie toward each other to bring said cover, over said container with saidtop of said container in said channel and for rotating said containerand member, and means for moving said wheel toward said container tomove said edge portion against said depending portion said wheelconstituting means cooperating with said die for bending and disposingthe edge of said depending portion under said reversely bent portion andbetween the same and said container, then rolling said depending portionand reversely bent portion together and compressing the same into atight bead, said wheel being rotated by engagement with said cover.

3. An apparatus for sealing a container having in combination, a freelyrevoluble plate having means for holding a container thereon axiallyalined therewith, said container having its top edge portion reverselybent outwardly and downwardly to extend substantially parallel with theouter side of said container, a rotatable die above said plate adaptedto receive a disk cover for said container having a channel of invertedU-shaped formed therein adjacent its edge and having a depending edgeportion, a resilient means urging said plate upwardly to normalposition, a wheel at one side of said die having its axis inclined tothe axis of said container and having an annular groove adjacent'itsouter side forming a rather sharp inwardly and upwardly directed edge, aspring urging said wheel toward said die, means for depressing saidplate and moving said wheel away from said die whereby said die andplate may be moved toward each other by said resilient means to placesaid cover on said container with said reversely bent portion disposedin said channel, and said wheel can be moved toward said container bysaid spring to engage said depending edge portion of said cover, saidwheel constituting means cooperating with said die for disposing saidedge portion under said reversely bent portion and between the same andsaid container, rolling said edge portion and top edge portion inwardlyand compressing the same.

4. The method of forming a sealed container which consists in forming acylindrical container having an open top, reversely bending a smallportion of said container at the top thereof outwardly and downwardly soas to extend along the outer side of said container, providing a coverfor said container in the form of a disk, bending the edge portion ofsaid cover upwardly and then reversely to form an inverted U-shapedchannel about the edge thereof with the edge portion extending somedistance below said channel, placing said cover on said container withthe bead of said bent portion of the latter disposed in said channel,engaging said cover with a die having a channel therein fitting over thetop of said channel in said cover, rotating said container and pressinga wheel against the outer portion of said cover, said wheel having anannular groove therein terminating in a comparatively sharp lip, holdingsaid wheel with its axis making an acute angle with the axis ofsaidcontainer, moving said wheel upwardly and toward said container sothat said lip moves said outer portion of said cover inwardly and saidlip moves under the downwardly turned portion of said container, rollingsaid downwardly turned portion and the outer turned portion of saidcover together and compressing the same between said groove in saidwheel and said die into a tight bead by the upward movement of saidwheel.

5. The method of forming a sealed container which consists in forming acylindrical container having an open top, reversely bending a smallportion of said container at the top thereof outwardly and downwardly soas to extend along the outer side of said container, providing a coverfor said container in the form of a disk,

bending the edge portion of said cover upwardly and then reversely toform an inverted U-shaped channel about the edge thereof with the edgeportion extending some distance below said channel, placing said coveron said container with the bead of said bent portion of the latterdisposed in said channel, engaging said cover with a die having achannel therein fitting over the top of said chanel in said cover,engaging the bottom of said container with a rotatable support, moving awheel against the outer side of said cover, said wheel having an annulargroove therein with a comparatively sharp lip at the side thereofadjacent said container, said wheel being disposed at a decidedly acuteangle to the axis of said container, rotating said die and saidcontainer, moving said wheel inwardly and upwardly on an are againstsaid cover and container to bring said lip under the downturned portionof said container and rolling said downturned portion and said outerportion of said cover together and continuing the movement of said wheelto compress said rolled portions into a tight bead between said wheeland said die.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,013,081 Starr Dec. 26, 1911 1,042,211 Forry a Oct. 22, 1912 2,074,348Stewart Mar. 23, 1937 2,441,014 Faucherre May 4, 1948 2,608,914 MerkleSept. 2, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,279 Denmark Mar. 24, 1919

